Suspenders



, UNITED- STATES PATENT? Carton.

, CHARLES D. CHEESMAN, OF ANSCNIA, CONNECTICUT.

SUSPENDERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 276,352, dated April 24, 1883.

Application filed February :28, 1883. (No model.) V i To all whom at may concern:

Be it known that I, GHAnLEsD. CHEESMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing atAnsonia, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented new and useful Improvements in Suspenders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in I devices for connecting and disconnecting suspender-ends and the buckles on .the shoulderstraps of suspenders, and has for its object to provide novel means whereby the suspenderends can be very conveniently disconnected from the buckle while the liability of the parts becoming separated accidentally or unintentionally is avoided.

Heretofore a Suspender-buckle has been provided with a spring-snap to engage a ring carr'zed by the Suspender-end but such is objectionable in that the free end of the snap has to be bent down or away from the part of the buckle-frame on which such free end rests, in order to disengage the ring; hence'the parts are not capable of being separated with that rapidity and convenience which are desirable in this class of articles. In another instancethe buckle has been provided with a stationary hook, with which the ring of the suspenderend engages; but such is objectionable in that they frequentlybecome disconnected by accident when not desired.

The above-mentioned objections are overcome by my invention, and a connection is provided which renders the parts less liable to become unintentionally separated, while they can be rapidly and conveniently disengaged when desired. l

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents perspective views of part of a suspenderstrap, the buckle and the suspender-end, the parts being connected; Fig. 2,a sectional view, showing the position of the parts when the Suspender-end has been disconnected from the buckle; Fig. 3, detached perspective views of the buckle and the lever which it carries; Fig. 4, a perspectiveview, showing the invention applied to the Suspender-end.

In the drawings, 1 indicates a metal plate or frame, which is designed'to be carried by the shoulder-strap 2 or by the suspender- .end 3. In Figs. 1 and 2 the metal plate or frame is in the form of an ordinary buckle,

known as the lever-bdckle, which is capa ble of adjustment along the shoulder-strap, 5 while in Fig. 4B the plate or frame is per manently attached to the Suspender-end by a leather strip, 4. The plate or frame is formed or otherwise provided with two projecting ears or flanges, 5 5, between which is located a lever, 6, having laterally-projecting journals 7, arranged in perforations 8 in the said ears or flanges. This lever is curved or bent inward,

as at 9, to rest against the plate or frame,and

its free end is then curved or bent outwardly, as at 10, to provide for the convenient engage ment of the ring on the suspender-end, (shown in Figs. 1 and 2,) or the ring carried by the shoulder-strap, as shown in Fig. 4. The lever is provided at its heel end with a projection, 11, to rest upon a spring-finger, 12, carried by the plate or frame, and, as here shown, formed from the body of the plate or frame by slitting the latter to leave the end of the finger free to yield, such finger being located between the cars or flanges 5. This spring acts on the heel of the lever to keep its free end against the plate or frame,as in Fig. 1, while it permits the lever to yield slightly away from the plate or frame when the ring 13 is to be hooked over 8c 1 or engaged with the lever. The ring 13 is connected with the suspender-end, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, it the lever-carrying plate or frame is secured to the shoulder-strap; but if the lever-carryin g plate or frame is secured to 8 the suspender -end, then the ring is attached to a buckle secured to the shoulder-strap, as shown in Fig. 4. The heel of the lever is bent inward, as represented at 14, so that such bent heel will serve to forcibly cast off the ring when 0 the lever is operated to disengage the suspender-end from the buckle, as shown in Fig. 2.

. It will be seen from the foregoing that the lever serves to provide the buckle with a hook, whereby the ring can be hooked thereon; but 5 when it is desired to disengage the ring the lever is swung-outward from the plate or frame, whichcauses its bent heel to swing around and cast 0d the ring, thus rapidly disengaging the parts in an exceedingly convenient manner. I00

The pressure of the ring incident to the strain on the suspender-end and the shoulderstrap is sustained by the projecting ears or flanges 5, thus providing a very secure connection between the parts, and, as no pressure is exerted on the lever by strain on the Suspender-end or shoulder-strap, it will be obvious that the ring is not liable to he accidentally or unintentionally detached, as the lever will not swing outward unless pressure is brought to hear on its free end-as, for example, by the pressure of the finger when it is desired to cast 011' the ring. The spring-finger 12 retains the bent or curved free end portion of the lever against the plate or frame, and thus prevents the lever from swinging outward, unless such pressure is brought to bear upon it as is sufficient to overcome the power of the spring.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- As an improved aiticle of manufacture, a

buckle-frame provided with a cast off'for suspender-ends, composed of the plate provided with a spring, 12, and two ears or flanges, 5, arranged respectively atopposite sides of the spring, and the lever pivoted to the ears or flanges, and having its heel constructed to rest upon the spring, and so bent as to cast off the connecting-ring when the lever is swung on its bearin g, substantially as described.

I11 testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES D. OHEESMAN.

Witnesses:

FRANKLIN BURTON, J OHN E. LEWIS. 

